DA-20 Cold ops.

[rob-air]

The Katana does not like the cold. Any tricks to keep it warm when flyng ie. best power setting. Are you able to keep it in the green when in cruise at minus 10 and under? Thanks

[4Stroke]

Do you have the winter kit on it? Intake baffles and cover for the rear cowling opening make a huge difference.

[akoch]

I fly the C1 version. At -10 the intake and outflow baffles are required (below -1 I recall). With both installed the oil and CHT stay reliably in the green zone. I take them off once spring comes.

[Colibri]

Baffles are the way to go. I've got loads of winter hours in them and have never had a problem, even around -20.

[burninggoats]

The winter kits work really well even at -20, but be careful because if the temp warms up, or there is warm air aloft, you may have trouble with overheating. Also, if you are doing circuits i'd recommend some power on approach to help keep those temps up.

[rob-air]

Thank you for your inputs. The winter kit is installed but the engine is hard to keep warm when not in the climb.

[akoch]

Call Diamond support. They answer the phone, and are actually useful and responsive in my experience.

[CpnCrunch]

It could just be that your oil gauge isn't reading accurately. If you have a meat thermometer with a steel cable you can just insert it into the oil filler tube after a flight to check the temperature.

[2550]

Thats a great idea, provided you know where the temp for the oil gauge is taken from....is right before the oil cooler pretty standard?

[dash8310]

I flew the A1s for more than a year. These have a 80hp engine compared to the C1s at 125hp. With the winter baffle it keeps the the engine within the green arc. Its so effective that if you inadvertently leave it there in spring at or above the temp in the POH (7' if I remember) boy the engine will overheat in a second.

Are you using the correct oil grade ?

[Colonel Sanders]

if you inadvertently leave it there in spring ... boy the engine will overheat in a second

Effective winter kits can be a problem when it warms up.

I remember a few years back, on a warm spring day, a
low-time pilot declared an emergency in his 172 - redline
oil temp - and landed at our airport. You guessed it, the
winter kit was still in

PS IMHO it's not enough to just pull the winter kit when
that happens. When the oil gets fried, I like to change it,
regardless of how many hours are on it, but I guess I'm
"old school".

[rob-air]

It could be that the temp gage undereads a bit. i will submit the meat idea to my superior.
While not being a real probleme if it undereads in winter it could be a real bummer come springtime if we dont pull the winter kit soon enough. The gage could be 3/4 green but actualy up in the red.

Colonel, I like the way you think. I apply this theory for every machine's engine, transmission and diffs.oil is cheap, replacing or fixing those things is often not. So dont cheap out on the lube.

Thanks again for your inputs

[kamikaze]

"So dont cheap out on the lube."

That's what she said!

(Sorry just couldn't let this one by ...)

[Colonel Sanders]

That's what she said!

You're not doing it right

[Expat]

if you inadvertently leave it there in spring ... boy the engine will overheat in a second

Effective winter kits can be a problem when it warms up.

I remember a few years back, on a warm spring day, a
low-time pilot declared an emergency in his 172 - redline
oil temp - and landed at our airport. You guessed it, the
winter kit was still in

PS IMHO it's not enough to just pull the winter kit when
that happens. When the oil gets fried, I like to change it,
regardless of how many hours are on it, but I guess I'm
"old school".

At our airport up north, you could tell the brave pilots who flew in the winter cold. The planes were covered with left over duck tape around the cowl, and the fresh air vents on the wings. Mine was...